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IN 



RELATION TO THE DIFFERENCES 



WHICH SUBSISTED BZTAVBEN THE 



LATE COMMODORE O. H. PERRY 



AND 



CAPTAIN J. D. ELLIOTT. 



WASHINGTON ; 
1821. 

BOSTON : 

1834. 



8«ire« WBlOMfVB 



s. 



^iai2i?i:L(©i3. 



When the late Commodore Perry was about to sail on the 
cruise which terminated his valuable life, he requested Com- 
modore Decatur to take charge of the following documents to 
keep Captain Elliott in check during his absence ; and, if any 
accident happened to him while on his cruise, that they might 
be published, as the most effectual means which would then be 
left, of guarding his character against the baseness and false- 
hood of Captain Elliott. 

The original documents of which these are copies, had all 
been transmitted to the Navy Department by Commodore Perry, 
some time before ; but, in consequence of a great proportion 
of the necessary witnesses being on the Mediterranean station, 
a court-martial could not be convened prior to his sailing. 



The Hon. Benjamin W. Crowninshield, 

Secretary of the JVavy Department. 

Sir : I have the honor to lay before you copies of a letter 
lately received by me from Captain Jesse D. Elliott of the 
Navy, and of certain certificates enclosed therein, with copies 
also of my letter in reply, and of the affidavits of Lieutenants 
Turner, Stevens, and Champlin, and Dr. Parsons. 

The conduct of Captain Elliott, partially presented to view in 
these papers, and still more clearly marked by other acts of 
that officer within my knowledge, and fully susceptible of proof, 
imposes on me the duty of preferring against him the charges 
which accompany this letter ; and I now accordingly do prefer 
said charges against Captain Elliott, and request that a court- 
martial may be ordered for his trial thereupon. 

The facts upon which some of these charges are founded 
(particularly those relating to the behaviour of that officer dur- 
ing the engagement on Lake Erie,) having been long in my 
possession, you will expect me to account for my not havino- 
sooner made them known to the government, and for having 
mentioned favorably, in my official report of that action, an 
officer whose conduct had been so reprehensible. 

At the moment of writing that report, 1 did in my own mind 
avoid coming to any conclusion to what cause the conduct of 
Captain Ell-ott was to be imputed ; nor was I then fully ac- 
quainted with all the circumstances relating to it. Havino- pre- 
viously to the engagement given all the orders which I thought 
necessary to enable every officer to do his duty, and feeling 
confidence in them all, I was, after it commenced, necessarily 
too much engaged in the actual scene before me to reflect de- 
liberately upon the cause which could induce Captain Elliott to 
keep his vessel so distant both from me and the enemy. And 
after the battle was won, I felt no disposition rigidly to ex- 
amine into the conduct of any of the officers of the fleet ; and, 
strange as the behaviour of Captain Elliott had been, yet I 
would not allow myself to come to a decided opinion, that an 
officer who had so handsomely conducted himself on a former 
occasion, (as I then in common with the public had been led to 
suppose Captain Elliott had) could possibly be guilty of cowar- 
dice or treachery. The subsequent conduct also of Captain Ell- 
iott ; the readiness with which he undertook the most minute 
services ; the unfortunate situation in which he now stood, which 
he lamented to me, and his marked endeavors to conciliate 
protection — were all well calculated to have their effect. But 
still more than all, I was actuated by a strong desire that in the 



fleet I then had the honor to command, there should be no- 
thing but harmony after the victory they had gained, and that 
nothing should transpire which would bring reproach upon any 
part of it, or convert into crimination the praises to which they 
were entitled, and which I wished them all to share and enjoy. 
The difficulties produced in my mind by these considerations, 
were, at the time, fully expressed to an officer of the fleet in 
whom I had great confidence. If I omitted to name Captain 
Elliott, or named him without credit, I might not only ruin that 
officer, but, at the same time, give occasion to animadversions 
which, at that period, I thought would be little to the honor 
or advantage of the service. If my official report of that trans- 
action is reverted to, these embarrassments with respect to 
Captain Elliott, under which I labored in drawing it, will, I 
believe, be apparent. That report was very different from 
what had been expected by the officers of the fleet ; but, having 
adopted the course which I thought most prudent to pursue 
with regard to Captain Elliott, I entreated them to acquiesce 
in it, and made every exertion in my power to prevent any fur- 
ther remarks on his conduct — and even furnished him with a 
favorable letter or certificate for the same purpose, of which 
he has since made a very unjustifiable use. 

These, sir, are the reasons which induced me at the time 
not to bring on an inquiry into his conduct. The cause and 
propriety of my now doing so will, I trust, require but few ex- 
planations. 1 would willingly, for my own sake as well as his, 
(after the course I had pursued for the purpose of shielding 
him,) have still remained silent; but this, Captain Elliott will 
not allow me to do. He has acted upon the idea, that by as- 
sailing my character he shall repair his own. 

After he was left in the command on Lake Erie, I was soon 
informed of the intrigues he was there practising, some of which 
are detailed in these charges. These I should not have regard- 
ed as long as they were private ; but I then determined and 
declared to many of my friends in the navy, that should Cap- 
tain Elliott ever give publicity to his misrepresentations, I would 
then demand an investigation of the whole of his conduct. 
This necessity is now forced upon me. 

Believing my hands to be bound, and even braving me with 
the very certificate afforded to him in charity, this officer at 
last addresses directly to myself, and claims my acquiescence 
in the grossest misrepresentations — not only of his own con- 
duct on Lake Erie, but of conduct and declarations which he 
imputes to me. 

Thus has Captain Elliott himself brought his own conduct 
on Lake Erie again into view, and, by involving with it impu- 
tations upon mine, has compelled me to call for this inquiry. 



He can make no complaint, therefore, of delay in bringing for- 
ward any of these charges. Those which regard his conduct 
on Lake Erie, and his justification, (if he has any,) are besides 
as perfectly susceptible of proof now as at any earlier period. 
Whatever the character of that behaviour was, it was witness- 
ed by such numbers as to leave nothing in it equivocal or unex- 
plained. Some of the otiicers who were with him may still be 
called upon, and although two or three others are deceased, 
yet so were they when Captain Elliott himself called for a Court 
of Inquiry. Certificates also were obtained from those officers 
by Captain Elliott while living, the originals of which are in the 
Department, and it may be seen by them that those officers, if 
present, would have no testimony to give which could at all 
militate with these charges. There are as many officers de- 
ceased from whose testimony Captain Elliott would have much 
more to fear, than he would have to hope from that of the offi- 
cers above alluded to. A Court of Inquiry consisting of three 
officers was once called at the request of Captain Elliott, in 
consequence (if I recollect rightly) of some allusions to the 
conduct of the Niagara, supposed to be contained in the Bri- 
tish Commodore Barclay's report ; and though that inquiry (of 
which no notice to attend as witnesses was given to any of the 
commanders of vessels on Lake Erie) could only be a very lim- 
ited one, and could involve no actual trial upon Captain Ell- 
iott's conduct, yet he undoubtedly had before that Court all 
such witnesses as could testify in his favor, and the record of 
that testimony (if any of those witnesses are deceased) will 
avail him. Captain Elliott, therefore, can suffer nothing from 
the lapse of time, and it would indeed be a strong pretension 
in him to claim protection from inquiry into his conduct, at the 
same time that he is giving notoriety to his own representations 
of it, and that too to the prejudice of others. 

I am, sir, fully sensible how troublesome the frequent exami- 
nations into the conduct of officers has been to the government, 
and how disagreeable they must have become. I am aware, 
also, that the public are justly dissatisfied with them, and that 
reproach has brought upon the service by means of them. I 
have-, therefore, avoided asking for this investigation as long 
as I possibly could do so with any justice to the service, or to 
my own character. 

I have the honor to be. 
Sir, 
Your most obedient servant, 

O. H. PERRY. 



8 



CHARGES 



Preferred by Captain Oliver H. Perry against Captain Jesse D. 
Elliott, of the United States Navy. 



FIRST CHARGE. 



That the said Captain Elliott having, on the 10th Septem- 
ber, 1813, during the engagement on Lake Erie, between the 
American and British fleets, before the eyes of the enemy, con- 
ducted himself in his command of the United States brig Nia- 
gara, in such a manner as to incur the reproaches of the Amer- 
ican fleet, and of the American army, then stationed in the 
neighborhood under the command of Major General Harrison, 
and of the citizens of the surrounding country ; and having, in 
this unfortunate situation, experienced from his commanding 
officer all the relief, and the most friendly countenance and 
support, which, (without absolute inconsistency with truth,) it 
was in the power of that officer to afford him, was, as soon as 
left in the command on that Lake, and after the departure of 
his said commanding officer, guilty of conduct unbecoming an 
officer and a gentleman, by immediately entering upon and 
pursuing a series of intrigues, designed to repair his own re- 
putation at the expense and sacrifice of his said commanding 
officer. 

Specification first. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, on or about the month of 
November, 1813. procured a certificate from Lieutenant Smith, 
whom the said Elliott had attempted to dishonor, by repre- 
senting him as guilty of misconduct during said engagement; 
which certificate was intended to reflect on the said Captain 
Perry ; insidiously to misrepresent his conduct during said en- 
gagement, and to impeach the truth of his official report there- 
of. And because, at or near the same time, the said Captain 
Elliott procured a certificate to be signed by Lieutenant Ed- 
wards, Purser Magrath, Dr. Parsons, and acting Sailing Mas- 
ter Webster, having the same import and design, and contain- 
ing a perverted statement of the conduct and language of the 
said Captain Perry, when he came on board of the Niagara du- 
ring said battle, although the said Elliott well knew that neither 
of the said officers were then present ; that the said Edwards 
was on the forecastle, that the said Magrath was at the time 
absent from that vessel, and the said doctor and Sailing Master 
were in the cockpit, or elsewhere below, and could neither of 



them have had any personal knowledfje of the pretended facts 
stated, which they could only have taken from the representa- 
tions of the said Captain Elliott himself; which certificates, 
in such manner obtained, were, by the said Captain Elliott, 
without notifying the said Captain Perry, procured to be trans- 
mitted to the Secretary of the Navy, for the purpose of injur- 
ing the reputation of the said Captain Perry in the opinion of 
the government. 

Specification second. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, at Baltimore, in or about 
the month of January, 1815, in presence of Captain Charles 
Ridgely, of the United States Navy, did falsely, and with ma- 
lice, represent the conduct of his said commanding officer in 
said engagement on the 10th September, 1813; insinuating 
that, when the said commanding officer came on board of the 
Niagara during said battle, he was in despair, and ready, to all 
appearance, to surrender the fleet ; but the said commanding 
officer, finding no reason to believe that he, the said Captain 
Elliott, would consent to such a measure, the fight was renew- 
ed, and he, the said Captain Elliott, cheered and reanimated 
his said commanding officer. And, at Lake Erie, on or about 
the month of January, 1814, in the presence of Lieutenant 
Concklin, did make the same, or similar, false imputations upon 
the conduct of his said commanding officer. 

Specification third. 

That he, the said Captain Elliott, during the months of Octo- 
ber and November, 1813, repeatedly stated to Doctor Wal- 
lace, of Erie, and to others, that his said commanding officer 
had, under the influence of fear or despair, thrown overboard 
his fin g, called the motto-flag^ which had been prepared by Cap- 
tain Perry to excite and encourage his men — containing the 
dying words of Lawrence, after whom this ship was named, 
" don't give up the ship," and the said flag had been picked up 
by another officer; which said assertions, said Elliott knew to 
be false, and that said flag was still flying on board of the Law- 
rence when Captain Perry left that vessel and was never lost 
or thrown overboard by any one. 

Specification fourth. 

That the said Elliott, about the month of September, 1813, 
made, or procured to be made and exhibited to some of the of- 
ficers, a false drawing or sketch of the battle of the lOth of Sep- 
2 



10 

tember, 1813, in which drawing he placed himself in the Nia- 
gara, and in the Somers, in positions of danger and service he 
never had occupied during the engagement; and represented 
other vessels, which had gallantly fought and distinguished 
themselves, in situations distant from the scene of action, and 
as rendering no service. 

Specification ffth. 

That, on or about the 22d October, 1813, at Erie, he, the 
said Captain Elliott, in presence of General Harrison, asserted 
that he, the said Elliott, was in close action during the whole 
of said engagement; that the said Captain Perry had done him 
injustice in not so stating in his official report ; and that said 
Perry had promised, before said official report was despatched, 
to alter that part of it to which he, the said Elliott, objected, 
but had failed to do so ; all which representations he, the said 
Elliott, knew to be wholly without truth. 

Specification sixth. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, at Erie, in the months of 
November and December, 1813, and, from that time, until he 
left the station at Lake Erie, about the month of May 1814; 
and, also, at Buffalo, during the same period, and particularly 
in November and December, 1813, did, in a manner calculated 
to bring contempt and reproach upon his profession, and upon 
the service, continually assail and beset the inhabitants of 
those towns, and the vicinity, (especially those most ignorant, 
and easily imposed upon,) with verbal accounts and descrip- 
tions of the engagement of the 10th September on Lake Erie, 
destitute of all truth, and calculated to reflect on the said Cap- 
tain Perry; and falsely to assume to himself a principal share 
in the victory obtained on said Lake. 

Specification seventh. 

Because the said Elliott, at Lake Erie, on or about the 28th 
October, 1813, did descend to various unmanly acts, in order 
to prevail upon Lieutenant Turner to give him such a certificate 
of good conduct, in the engagement of the 10th of September, 
as he knew could not be given with truth ; and, although Lieu- 
tenant Turner not only resisted his importunities, but showed 
a strong repugnance to giving him any certificate whatever, 
yet the said Captain Elliott pursued and urged him : and, final- 
ly, appealed to his feelings, by saying that the unfavorable 
reports of his conduct, during the said battle, had come to the 
ears of his wife, had rendered her unhappy, and declaring, upon 



11 

his honor, that, if Lieutenant Turner would give him a cer- 
tificate, he would make no other use of it than as a means of al- 
laying her uneasiness ; and, by such unworthy means, the said 
Captain Elliott succeeded in extorting from said Lieutenant 
Turner such a certificate as that gentleman hoped he might 
venture to give for such an occasion. 

Specification eighth. 

Because the said Elliott, in the months of October and No- 
vember, 1813, resorted to unbecoming acts and persuasion, in 
order to prevail on other officers, then under his command, 
(particularly Sailing Masters Champlain, Brownell,and M'Don- 
ald,) to give him certificates of good conduct in said engage- 
ment of 10th September, so contrary, to their opinions, that all, 
or most of them, refused to give any such certificate. 

Specification ninth. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, at Erie, on or about the 
10th November, 1813, in a manner derogatory to the character 
of an American officer, questioned some of the British officers, 
then prisoners, of whom he had the charge, (particularly Lieu- 
tenant Bignall,) relative to his, the said Captain Elliott's con- 
duct in the late engagement, and for the purpose of obtaining 
from them a favorable declaration of his having been in close 
action in the Niagara during said engagement. 

Specification tenth. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, on the night of the 19th Sep- 
tember, on Lake Erie, (having first, in a previous interview, 
exciting the compassion of his commanding officer, by lament- 
ing the injury his character had sustained, and declaring that he 
had lost the finest opportunity that ever man had of distinguishing 
himself,) did address to the said officera note in the style of friend- 
ly solicitation, calculated to produce in his favor, from said offi- 
cer, an expression of the friendly disposition and wish to relieve 
the said Captain Elliott, manifested by that officer in said in- 
terview ; and did afterwards, in the Erie Gazette of 1st No- 
vember, 1813, cause a false copy of said note (of his) to be 
published ; by which, said note was made to assume a difl'er- 
ent tone and import ; and did, also, at the same time, cause to 
be published, in said Gazette, the friendly letter or certificate of 
his said commanding officer as being a reply thereto. 

All which practices, stated in the foregoing specifications, 
were resorted to by the said Captain Elliott, after his com- 



12 

manding officer had exerted, to his utmost personal influence 
with the officers of the fleet and others, for the purpose of 
screening the said Captain Elliott from the consequences of 
his conduct during said engagement; and had, in drawing his 
official report of that engagement, studiously labored to devise 
some pardonable mode of representing that transaction, by which 
he might be able, happily, to get over the objectionable part of 
said Elliott's conduct on that day, and, at the same time, to name 
him with credit and honor. 

Specification eleventh. 

Because the said Captain Elliott did, on the I4th May, 1818, 
address to the said Captain Perry a letter, enclosing therein, 
as the cause of said letter, copies of certain certificates, stat- 
ing expressions, alleged to have been made use of by Captain 
Perry towards the said Captain Elliott, without calling upon the 
said Captain Perry to avow, deny, or explain, or justify said ex- 
pressions, descending to the most unmanly and vulgar abuse. In 
which said letter, also, the said Captain Perry is represented 
wholly without truth, as having declared to Capt. Elliott, at Erie, 
that, if he would not dwell on the action, he, the said Perry, 
would write a private letter to the Honorable Secretary of the 
Navy, and express his surprise that the country did not give 
him, the said Captain Elliott, half the honor of the victory, and 
in the same letter, the said Elliott again misrepresented the 
style and import of his said note, mentioned in the last specifi- 
cation, giving it the tone of a categorical demand upon the said 
Captain Perry, to contradict the reports which were put in cir- 
culation prejudicial to the character of the said Captain Elliott, 
as if he, the said Captain Elliott, would insinuate that at the 
time of writing of the said note he considered said reports to 
have been put in circulation by the said Capt. Perry, and that he 
accordingly called upon him, in said note, to contradict them. 

CHARGE SECOND. 

Conduct unbecoming an officer, and manifesting disregard of 
the honor of the American flag. 

Specification first. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, about the 1st of October, 
1813, on board the gunboat Scorpion, commanded by Sailing 
Master Champlain, then on Lake St. Clair, in the presence 
of said Champlain, intemperately and unjustly abused the said 
Captain Perry, his said commanding officer on lake Erie, and 
expressly declared that he had had it in his power to destroy 



13 

the fleet, and the said Perry with it, and he only regretted that 
he had not done so ; and further there declared, that the offi- 
cers and men of the Lawrence were not entitled to prize mo- 
ney, on account of the vessels of the enemy captured on lake 
Erie, but that the oflicers and crews of the other vessels of the 
American fleet were entitled to prize money for the recapture 
of the Lawrence. And because the said Captain Elliott did 
again, at Buffalo, in November and December, 1813, publicly 
express the same wish, that he had sacrificed the American 
fleet on lake Erie, together with the said Captain Perry its 
commander. 

Specification second. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, at Erie, on or about the 
26th October, 1813, declared, in the presence of Dr. Wallace 
of that place, that it would be a serious question between the 
two governments (meaning the American and British) whether 
Captain Perry was not to be considered as a prisoner of war. 

Specification third. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, in the month of November, 
1813, at Erie and at Buffalo, asserted publicly, that the Ameri- 
can flag, for the first time since the declaration of war, had 
been disgraced on board the Lawrence, (meaning that such dis- 
grace had been incurred by that vessel, in the engagement on 
10th September, on lake Erie.) 

Specification fourth. 

Because the said Elliott, at Erie, in the months of October 
and November, 1813, declared in presence of Dr. Wallace of 
that place, and others, that the American fleet had gained no 
honor in the engagement on the 10th September on lake Erie, 
and that, from the superiority of force, the British fleet might 
have been taken in fifteen minutes ; although he, the said Cap- 
tain Elliott, well knew that the force of the enemy, in that en- 
gagement, was superior to that of the American fleet. 

CHARGE THIRD. 

That the said Captain Elliott was guilty of oppression to- 
wards certain officers and men under his command on Lake Erie. 

Specification first. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, on Lake Erie, on or about 
the month of January, 1S14, put Lieutenant Conklin under ar- 



14 

rest, without any other cause than that the said Lieutenant 
Concklin went out of said Captain Elliott's cabin, declaring to 
him that he would not remain there to hear such reflections 
upon the character of Captain Perry, as were then made by 
the said Captain Elliott, which reflections are stated in the se- 
cond preceding specification, first charge. 

Specification second. 

Because the said Captain Elliott violently beat with a trum- 
pet one of the men on board of the gunboat Somers, for laugh- 
ing when he perceived, or supposed, the said Captain Elliott to 
dodge a chain-shot, which happened to pass over that vessel, 
near to Captain Elliott, during the engagement of 10th Septem- 
ber, 1813. 

Specification third. 

Because the said Captain Elliott, during the months of No- 
vember and December, 1813, while left in command on Lake 
Erie, took every opportunity of manifesting an unjust hostility 
towards the surviving officers and men of the Lawrence, and 
particularly towards such officers of the fleet as had declined 
giving him certificates of good conduct ; on all occasions select- 
ing such officers and men for the most severe duties, and pla- 
cing them in the most uncomfortable situations ; in such man- 
ner as to excite the observation of the whole fleet. 

CHARGE FOURTH. 

That the said Captain Elliott, on the 10th September, 1813, 
being then a Master Commander in the Navy of the United 
States, and commanding the United States brig Niagara, one 
of the American squadron on Lake Erie, did not use his utmost 
exertion to carry into execution the orders of his commanding 
officer to join in the battle on that day between the American 
and British fleets. 

Specification of the fourth charge. 

Because the American squadron having sailed, in search of 
the enemy, a few days previous, the following orders and in- 
structions were issued by the commanding officer, viz. 1st — 
An order directing in what manner the line of battle should be 
formed; the several vessels to keep within half cable's length 
of each other, and enjoining it upon the commanders to pre- 
serve their stations in the line, and, in all cases to keep as near 



16 

to the commanding officer's vessel, the Lawrence, as possible ; 
2d — An order of attack ; in which order the Lawrence was 
designated to attack the enemy's new ship, (afterwards ascer- 
tained to have been named the Detroit,) and the Niagra, com- 
manded by the said Captain Elliott, designated to attack the 
enemy's ship " Queen Charlotte ;" which orders were then 
communicated to all the commanders, including the said Cap- 
tain Elliott, who, for that purpose, and to receive further orders 
and instructions, were, by signal, called together by the said com- 
manding officer, and all the said commanders, including the said 
Captain Elliott, were then, by the said commanding officer, ex- 
pressly further instructed, that " if, in the expected engage- 
ment, they laid their vessels close along side of those of the 
enemy, they could not be out of their way." 3d — When com- 
ing into action, an order was passed, by trumpet, for the ves- 
sels astern to close up in the line ; and, after the enemy had 
commenced firing, the signal was made, by the said command- 
ing officer, for the fleet to come into action, each vessel against 
her opponent, as before designated ; yet did he, the ?aid Cap- 
tain Elliott, notwithstanding said orders, and in violation there- 
of, keep his said brig, the Niagara, nearly a mile's distance 
astern of the Lawrence, and a still great distance from the 
whole of the enemy's fleet, during more than two hours of the 
battle, although but a few moments before its commencement 
he was within hail of the Lawrence, and might with ease have 
followed that vessel into close action, instead of which he, the 
said Captain Elliott, failed to come into close action and to en- 
gage the enemy's ship the Queen Charlotte, as he was bound 
to do by said order and by the example of the commanding 
officer's vessel, and did remain, during the whole period be- 
fore mentioned, at such a distance from the enemy as to ren- 
der all the guns of the Niagara useless, except two long ones, 
which, consequently, were the only guns fired from that vessel 
during all the said time, and by which, at so great a distance but 
little, if any, effect upon the enemy could be produced ; of 
which misconduct and breach of orders the said Captain Elliott 
was guilty, without any necessity, cause, or excuse, his said 
vessel being, in all respects, in size, force, equipment and crew, 
and sailing, fully equal to the Lawrence and the ship he was 
ordered to engage ; and, being also to the windward of the 
enemy, said vessel could not easily have been kept out of 
close action, unless the said Captain Elliott had, for that pur- 
pose, kept, as he did, her main topsail aback and her jib brail- 
ed up ; by doing which, and by keeping the wind, instead of 
bearing down upon the enemy, he, the said Captain Elliott, 
finally carried his said vessel on the outside of the Lawrence 
and Caledonia, placing those vessels between him and the ene- 



16 

my, and was, when his said commanding officer went on board 
that vessel, keeping her on a course by the wind, which would, 
in a few minutes, have carried said vessel entirely out of the 
action, to prevent which, and in order to bring the said vessel 
into close action with the enemy, the said commanding officer 
was under the necessity of heaving to and immediately wearing 
said vessel and altering her course at least eight points. 

CHARGE FIFTH. 

That the said Captain Elliott, on the 10th September, 1813, 
being then commander of the United States brig Niagara, one 
of the American squadron on lake Erie, through cowardice, 
negligence, or disaffection, did not, in the action on said lake 
on that day between the American and British fleets, do his ut- 
most to take or destroy the vessel of the enemy which it was 
his duty to encounter. 

SjJeciJication. 
(Same as to charge fourth.) 

CHARGE SIXTH. 

That the said Captain Elliott, in said engagement on lake 
Erie, on the said 10th of September, through cowardice, negli- 
gence, or disaffection, did not do his utmost endeavor to afford 
relief to the United States brig Lawrence. 

Specification. 

(Same as to charges 4th and 5th, with the following addition :) 

In consequence of which conduct of the said Captain Elliott, 
the enemy's said ship the Queen Charlotte, was enabled to 
unite her force with that of the Detroit against the Lawrence ; 
instead of preventing which, or affording any assistance to said 
brig Lawrence, the said Captain Elliott left that vessel, her of- 
ficers and crew, (eighty-three of whom were killed or wound- 
ed,) a sacrifice to the enemy, although his, the said Captain El- 
liott's vessel, remained perfectly uninjured, with not more than 
one or two of his men (if any) wounded, while Captain Elliott 
continued on board of her. 

August S, 1818. O. H. PERRY. 



17 

Copy of Lieutenant Turner'' s affidavit. 

In the battle of the 10th September, 1813, on Lake Erie, be- 
tween the American squadron commanded by Commodore Per- 
ry and the British squadron under Commodore Barclay, the ac- 
tion began when the two squadrons were about a mile apart, 
by a firing commenced by the enemy ; the signal having been 
made by Commodore Perry, for our vessels to engage as they 
came up, each against the enemy's vessel, as designated in pre- 
vious orders, which made the Queen Charlotte the antagonist 
of the Niagara, commanded by Captain Elliott. It was under- 
stood by the American officers before the fight, that it was Cap- 
tain's Perry's intention to bring the enemy to close action as 
soon as possible. The Lawrence accordingly closed with the 
Detroit very soon. The Queen Charlotte made sail for the 
purpose of assisting the Detroit. The Niagara might have re- 
lieved the Lawrence from the Queen Charlotte's fire, if she 
had made proper exertions to bring her to close action ; but, 
by keeping her maintop sail aback and her jib brailed up, she 
kept at too great a distance from the enemy to do him any ma- 
terial injury, and sustained scarcely any herself until the Com- 
modore took command of her, who immediately bore up and 
passed through the enemy's line, firing both his broadsides with 
such tremendous effect, as compelled him instantly to surrender. 

It was the general opinion of the American officers, and ex- 
pressed with much indignation, that Captain Elliott did not do 
his duty in the battle, as a gallant and faithful officer ; inasmuch 
as he did not bring his vessel, as soon as he might have done, 
into close action, which circumstance 07ily, made the result of 
the battle for a short time doubtful. Soon after the victory. 
Captain Elliott's conduct was spoken of, as well in General 
Harrison's army, as in the fleet, with great disapprobation and 
censure. Captain Perry heard of it, and spoke to me of it one 
evening ; said that he was sorry reports were in circulation so 
ruinous to Captain Elliot's reputation — wished they might be 
silenced, and desired me to go on shore to the camp, and do 
all that I could, with propriety, to counteract them — I did so 
accordingly the next morning. He said the American flag had 
gained much honor that day, and he wished all his compan- 
ions in battle to share it with him. Several weeks after this, 
Captain Perry told me that Captain Elliott wished him to alter 
that part of his official report which stated that the Niagara did 
not, until a late period of the engagement, get into close action 
— and asked me whether I thought that part of his report, in- 
correct, as it had been agreed to leave the question to be de- 
cided by two commissioned officers of the fleet, (Lieutenant Ed- 
wards, who was present, and myself being the officers selected,) 
3 



18 

I answered, I thought that part of his official report was entire- 
ly correct, to which Lieutenant Edwards assented. 

Some time after, Captain Perry left the lake, and when the 
squadron was under Captain Elliott's command, he applied to 
me and repeatedly urged me to give him a certificate respecting 
his conduct in the battle. He said that his only reason for 
wishing one, was to have it in his power to calm his wife's un- 
easiness, who had heard that his conduct had been questioned; 
and declared to me, upon his honor, that he would make no 
other use of it than as a means of relieving her unhappiness. — 
Thus delicately and unpleasantly situated, I wrote such a cer- 
tificate as I thought I might, for such an occasion, venture to 
give Captain Elliott. DAN. TURNER. 

Sworn to before, 

HOLMES WEAVER, Jns. Peace. 



Copy of Dr. Parson's Affidavit. 

In the action of the 10th September, 1S13, on lake Erie, I 
was stationed in the wardroom of the Lawrence, to act as sur- 
geon. I well recollect, that the wounded, from the first of their 
coming down, complained that the Niagara (commanded by 
Captain Elliott,) did not come up to her station and close with 
the Queen Charlotte, although he had been ordered by signal ; 
and this complaint was frequently repeated by them) till the 
Lawrence struck, and repeatedly by Lieutenants Brooks, Yar- 
nal and Claxton. It was at the same time observed that the 
Caledonia was in close action, while the Niagara, a faster sail- 
er, was quite out of the reach of the enemy. After the action 
closed, the censures upon Captain Elliott's conduct were so ge- 
neral and severe, not only among the Lawrence's officers, but 
those of the small vessels, that in writing to my friends, the day 
following, I did not hesitate to say, that Captain Elliott had dis- 
graced himself in the action ; and the same sentiment was ex- 
pressed in the letters of every officer on board who was able to 
write. These letters were on the point of being sent, when 
Mr. Ilambleton, who had just had a private interview with 
Commodore Perry, told us the Commodore wished us to be si- 
lent on Captain Elliot's conduct ; that whatever might have 
been the appearances during the action, he was then unwilling, 
after its happy result, to destroy an officer of his rank ; and that 
honor enough had been gained by the action, to permit of its 
being shared by every one engaged in it. 

This request of Commodore Perry was complied with, as far 
as was practicable ; one of Mr. Yarnall's letters, however, had 



19 

slipt from his hands before this message was received — and was 
published. 

The second day after the action, I attended the wounded of 
the Niagara, (the surgeon of that vessel having been sick,) and 
out of twenty cases, not more tlian one or two, said they were 
wounded while Captain Elliott was on board the ship. On 
board all the small vessels which Captain Elliott brought up 
towards the close of the action, the number of killed and 
wounded did not exceed two or three. The number of killed 
and wounded on board the Lawrence, before she struck, was 
eighty-three. 

In conversation with two officers of the Queen Charlotte, a 
short time after the action, I asked them why the Queen di- 
rected her fire wholly upon the Lawrence instead of the Nia- 
gara.^ He replied, "because the Niagara was so far off we 
could noi injure her." 

From all these facts, and others, the officers of the Lawrence 
and some of the other vessels, felt exceedingly disappointed 
and displeased with the official report of Commodore Perry, on 
account of the honorable mention there made of Captain El- 
liott. We have, nevertheless, been willing to believe that the 
error proceeded from the best motives. 

Midshipman Lenox, who commanded one of the small yes- 
sels, has repeatedly told me that Captain Elliott had said, in his 
presence in Buffalo, that he regretted he did not sacrifice the 
fleet, when it was in his power, and Captain Perry with it. 

USHER PARSONS. 

Sworn to before me, 

HOLlAJES WEAVER, Just. Peace. 



Letter from Captain Elliott, to Captain Perry, [no date affixed."] 

Sir: Communications which have recently been made me, 
and exact copies of which I herewith enclose you, render it 
necessary that I should hear from you immediately. As soon 
as I heard of your late visit to Washington, I lost no time in 
hurrying ofl[* from this place, with a hope that we should meet 
and settle those differences which have so long existed ; your 
sudden, and to me unexpected, departure from that city, pre- 
vented the contemplated meeting; and my orders to sit on a 
Court Martial, in Baltimore which detained me from this place 
longer than I at first expected, has induced me to return to 
Virginia, and instead of the personal interview, which had alone 



20 

carried me from home, and which I had so anxiously hoped for 
would take place, now compels me to address you at a moment 
when I might seem if prompted by the late pul3lic investigation 
of your Mediterranean command. 

The wrongs which I have suffered are many ; and after tak- 
ing a retrospect of all the transactions connected with our af- 
fairs which have been made public, 1 am at a loss to know how 
it was possible you could have made such representations as 
are contained in the certificates herewith enclosed. Immedi- 
ately after the action on Lake Erie, you must recollect, that 
reports prejudicial to my character were put in circulation ; 
when I called on you for a written contradiction of them, (your 
answer, I presume, is in your possession) you say in your letter, 
" You have no fault to find with myself, officers, and crew — 
compliment me by saying, you are indebted in a great measure 
for the victory, my bringing the small vessels into close action," 
and conclude, with a positive assertion, that the Niagara would, 
from her superior order, have taken the Queen Charlotte in 
twenty minutes, had she not made sail and engaged the Law- 
rence. 

What, sir, has since occurred, to draw from you such base, 
false, and malicious reports, as contained in the certificates en- 
closed ? I will conclude my remarks with one or two observa- 
tions, and permit you to draw such inferences as your feelings 
of honor may dictate ; hoping, that you will never again have 
occasion, either in the society of the ladies, or that of young 
navy officers, to make use of expressions of a similar nature, 
and which, too, intended to my injury. Pray sir, has your me- 
mory been so treacherous, as to fail recollecting an interview 
at Erie, and that you then said, " if I would not dwell on the 
action, that you would write a private letter to the Hon. Secre- 
tary of the Navy, and express your surprise that the country 
did not give me half the honor in the victory ?" 

With proper respect, 

J. D. ELLIOTT. 

Capt. O. H. Perry, &c. 



Copies of the Certificates alluded to in the foregoing Letter. 

Norfolk, Feb. 2, 1818. 
Sir : In conversation with some of the officers of the U. S. 
ship Washington, your name was mentioned, in connexion 
with the action on Lake Erie, when Lieutenant W. B. Shubrick 
observed, that Captain Perry had publicly said your reputation 
was in his hands, and that the least you and your friends can say 
on the subject of that action the better for you. 



21 

I at the same time said I was your friend, and as soon as an 
opportunity presented, would make known to you the assertion 
which is now communicated. 

W. H. BRECKENRIDGE. 

To Capt. Jesse D. EHiott. 

I certify that the above is a true copy of the original, which 
I have seen in the possession of Captain Elliott. 

May 1, ISIS. GEORGE T. KENNON. 

Washington, Feb. 27, 181S. 

Sir : You having called on me for some assertions made by 
Captain Perry, I can only state, that some time in the year 1813 
I saw Commodore Perry in New York, and mentioned I had 
received a letter from Captain Elliott respecting the engage- 
ment on Lake Erie. 

Commodore Perry replied, that Captain Elliott had better 
be quiet on that subject ; that he had understood other letters 
had been written by him to his friends. 

The above conversation between Commodore Perry and my- 
self has never been directly or indirectly mentioned by me to 
Captain Elliott, until called upon by him here. 

JOHN HALL. 

I certify the above is a true copy of the original, which I have 
seen in the hands of Captain Elliott. 

G. T. KENNON. 

Hospital Surgeon, Gosport. 



To the Post Master, Erie Station, JYew York, for Capt. Elliott. 

[Captain Elliott's particular station not being known at this time, you are requested to 
forward the enclosed to him in such manner as it will be sure to reach him, and you will 
oblige his friend, M. G. R. RUSSELL. 

It is with the deepest regret that the friends of merit observe 
how much you have been overlooked in the late engagement 
on Lake Erie. You are bound in justice to yourself, to lay be- 
fore your country and the world your own share of the glory 
of that day. You may rest assured that Perry is endeavor- 
ing to rob you of oil. I have a correspondent who resides in 
Newport, and who heard Perry say, in a private circle, when 
he was representing the action, that when he went on board 
the Niagara, he found you pale and trembling like an aspin 
leaf, and all your officers, and that it was with difficulty he could 



22 

get you to obey his commands. Although I have not the ho- 
nor of your acquaintance, I feel bound, by my attachment to 
worth and gallantry, to give you this information, trusting to 
your honor as a gentleman and officer not to betray me ; for 
my friends would highly condemn a step of the kind, and Perry, 
too, knows my hand writing. But I feel confident you will con- 
fine this information to your own breast j it is only for your ben- 
efit that I give it. 

It would aflford me much pleasure to know that you have re- 
ceived this in safety. If you wish to acknowledge the receipt, 
direct to " Miss Mary G. R. Russell, Petersburg, Virginia." 



Captain Pernfs reply to Captain Elliott. 

Newport, (Rhode Island,) June 18, 1818. 

Sir : The letter which I have lately received from you has 
evidently been written for the purpose of being exhibited to your 
friends, and in the hope that, passing without reply, it might 
gain credit among those upon whom you have been long in the 
habit of practising similar impositions. You had much reason, 
sir, to indulge in such a hope. 

It is humiliating to be under the necessity of replying to any 
letters written by a person who so little knows what becomes 
a gentleman. I must not, however, permit you to derive from 
my silence any countenance to the gross falsehoods contained 
in vour letter, and which it would be an affectation of decorum 
to call by any other name ; such, particularly, is the absurd de- 
claration you impute to me in the close of it, and the perverted 
account you give of the manner in which I was once induced to 
write a letter in your fiivor. How imprudent, as well as base, 
it is in you, by such misrepresentations, to reduce me to the 
necessity of reminding you of the abject condition in which I 
had previously found you, and by which I was moved to afford 
you all the countenance in my power ; sick (or pretending to 
be sick) in bed, in consequence of distress of mind, declaring 
that you had missed the fairest opportunity of distinguishing 
yourself that ever man had, and lamenting so piteously the loss 
of your reputation, that I was prompted to make almost any 
effort to relieve you from the shame which seemed to over- 
whelm you. This, you very well know, was the origin of the 
certificate I t!)en granted you; and that your letter to me, (of 
which you once furnished a false copy for publication, and 
which you now represent as making a demand upon me,) was 
merely an introduction to mine. Another motive I had which 
you could not appreciate, but which I urged with success on 



23 

the other officers : it resulted from a strong, and I then hoped 
pardonable, desire that the public eye might only rest upon 
the gallant conduct of the fleet, and not be attracted to its blem- 
ishes, as I feared it would be by the irritation excited by your 
conduct among the oflicers and men, most of whom, I hoped, 
had acquired sufficient honor to gratify their ambition, even 
should that honor be shared by some one who might less de- 
serve it. 

The expressions stated in your two certificates to have been 
made use of by me, when speaking of your unmanly conduct, 
were probably the most lenient I have for a long time employ- 
ed when called upon to express my opinion of you ; and, thor- 
oughly known, as you must be conscious your character is to 
me, it was quite needless for you to have procured certificates 
of the contempt with wUich I have spoken of you. You might 
readily, however, have furnished much more ample ones, and 
of a much earlier date, than those it has suited you to produce; 
for you allowed but little time to elapse, after receiving the ben- 
efits of my letter, before your falsehoods and intrigues against 
me made me fully sensible of the error I had committed in en- 
deavoring to prop so unprincipled a character. 

If it be really true that you hurried to Washington for the 
purpose of inviting me to a meeting, it is indeed unfortunate 
that intentions for which you give yourself so great credit have 
evaporated in a pitiful letter, which none but a base and vulgar 
mind could have dictated. The reputation you have lost is 
not to be recovered by such artifices ; it was tarnished by your 
own behaviour on Lake Erie, and has constantly been rendered 
more desperate by your subsequent folly and habitual false- 
hoods. You cannot wonder at the loss : that reputation which 
has neither honor nor truth, nor courage for its basis, must ever 
be of short duration. Mean and despicable as you have proved 
yourself to be, I shall never cease to criminate myself for having 
deviated from the path of strict propriety, for the sake of screen- 
ing you from public contempt and indignation. For this of- 
fence to the community I will atone, in due time, by a full dis- 
closure of your disgraceful conduct. But that you, of all men, 
should exultingly charge me with an error committed in your 
favor, and by which you were (as far as a man in your situation 
could be) saved from disgrace, is a degree of turpitude of 
which I had before no conception. O. H. P. 



The foregoing documents were published without 
the knowledge of the relations of the late Commodore 
Perry. It is with regret they find that the publication 
has led to a controversy in which they would not will- 
ingly have engaged ; believing as they do, that the 
reputation of Commodore Perry in the estimation of 
the Government and the nation is too well established 
to require any defence. 

Capt. Elliott having however asserted in a newspaper 
publication, that he had in his " possession the evidences 
necessary to destroy the object of this attack, and that 
he had prepared the materials to justify the rank which 
had been conferred on him, and which he only withheld 
from publication from motives of forbearance," I con- 
sidered it my duty publicly to call on Capt. Elliott to 
exhibit the documents on which he relied for his justi- 
fication against the charges in the publication to which 
Commodore Perry's name was attached. 

Capt. Elliott has published those " evidences;" and 
I now in conformity with my pledge, and discharging 
the duty which I owe to the memory of mj brother, lay 
before the public the following additional documents, 
which (with the exception of Lieut. D. Forest's letter) 
have been copied from the original affidavits in the pos- 
session of the Committee appointed by the Legislature 
of Rhode Island to collect documents relative to the 
action on Lake Erie between the American and British 
fleets. 

MATTHEW C. PERRY. 

New York, April 6th, 1821. 



25 

Copy of the Affidavit of Lieut. Thomas Holdup Stevens, Commanding 
United States Sloop Trippe, in the action of the IQth Sept. 1813. 

When the American squadron had approached the enemy 
within about a mile, and the enemy had commenced firing, 
the signal was made by Com. Perry, to " engage as you come 
up, every one against his opponent, in the line as before desig- 
nated f^ agreeable to this signal, the situation of the Niagara 
should have been abreast of the Queen Charlotte, and within 
half a cable's length. The Lawrence went gallantly into close 
action, and her example was followed by the Caledonia, Lieut. 
Turner; but the Niagara continued to hug the wind, and re- 
mained in the position she had taken at the commencement of 
the action till a few moments previous to Com. Perry's board- 
ing her. There could not be any rational object in the Nia- 
gara's keeping at long shot with the Q,ueen Charlotte, as the 
amount and description of their force was equal, and being 
principally carronadcs, no effect could be made by them at 
the distance Capt. Elliott kept his ship. From the number of 
light sails the Niagara had, and there being a leading wind, 
Capt. Elliott might at any period of the action have closed with 
the enemy, and relieved the Lawrence from the dreadful and 
destructive fire kept up upon her from the united forces of the 
Detroit and Queen Charlotte. 

It was the general opinion of the officers and men of the 
squadron, that Captain Elliott did not do his duty in the action of 
the 10th of Sept. ; and that had he been impelled by a be- 
coming bravery, he would have made greater exertions to 
have taken an active part in the fight. Great irritation was 
produced in the fleet in consequence of it, and this opinion con- 
tinued to be freely expressed till it was made known that Com. 
Perry was desirous of protecting Capt. Elliott from the effects , 
of such reports. Every exertion was made by Com. Perry to 
screen Capt. Elliott from the injurious impressions made by 
his conduct : but the volunteers in the fleet did not pay the 
same regard to Com. Perry's wishes as was done by the officers ; 
and many of them having witnessed the conduct of Captain 
Elliott, gave full expression to their feelings and opinions re- 
specting him. 

It was a received opinion in the fleet, that previous to Com- 
modore Perry's going on board the Niagara, she had but one 
man wounded, and that her opponent, the Queen Charlotte, 
from the account of the British officers, had suflcred but very 
slightly previous to being engaged in close action with Com- 
modore Perry. 

When the action closed, Captain Elliott was on board the 
Somers, and the accounts from that vessel were very unfa- 
4 



26 

vorable to Capt. Elliott's bravery, as it was reported he beat 
the Captain of the gun very severely with a speaking trumpet, 
for having laughed at his dodging a shot which passed over him 
from the enemy. 

Signed, THOS. HOLDUP STEVENS. 



Washington, Jan. 29th, 1821. 

Sir, — To bear testimony against the character of a brother 
officer, is no pleasing task ; but there is a paramount obligation 
that we all owe to our country, which cannot be overlooked 
but with the implication of personal honor, and to the suprema- 
c> of which all private friendship and personal respect must be 
compelled to bow. 

Uninfluenced by other motives, I do now most willingly, 
(but with regret for the occasion) oflfer my testimony with re- 
gard to the conduct of Captain Jesse D. Elliott, on the 10th 
day of September, 1813, during the action vyith the enemy's 
squadron on Lake Erie. I was the second Lieutenant of the 
brig Lawrence, Com. Perry's flag vessel, at the time and on 
the occasion alluded to. — I was the officer of the watch at the 
moment the enemy was first seen on that day, and reported 
them to Com. Perry, when our squadron immediately got un- 
der weigh and worked out of the bay — after we got out, the 
wind changed in our favor, and we run down to meet the ene- 
my. After the commencement of the action. Captain Elliott, 
in the Niagara, instead of keeping on with us, and engaging 
his opponent as directed, put his helm down and sheered to 
windward of the Lawrence, leaving the Lawrence exposed to 
the fire of the enemy's two largest vessels. Some time after 
the Lawrence had been in close action, and much cut up, I 
said to Com. Perry, " that brig (meaning the Niagara) will not 
help us ; see how he keeps off"; he will not come to close ac- 
tion." — " ril fetch him up," said Commodore Perry ; and im- 
mediately ordered his boat. As he left the Lawrence, he said, 
" If a victory is to gained, Pll gain it." As soon as he got 
on board the Niagara, she bore up and run down, and in a 
short time was in close action between two of the enemy's 
largest vessels. I was on deck from day-light till after the 
battle was over; and I believed at the time, and do still most 
solemnly believe, that Captain Jesse D. Elliott was influenced 
either by cowardice, and fear prevented him from closing with 
the enemy, or that he wished to sacrifice the Lawrence, and 
the claim the victory for himself. 

It was my firm belief, at the time Com. Perry was making 



27 

out of his report of the action, and I believe other officers were 
of the same opinion, that Com. Perry endeavored so to word 
it, as to screen Capt. Elliott as much as he could, and that this 
was done solely from feelings of benevolence. 

Respectfully, &,c. 

DULANY FORREST, U. S. N. 



Copy of the Affidavit of Lieut. Stephen ChampUn, commanding 
(j. S. Schooner Scorpion, in the battle of the IQth Se/Ji. 1S13. 

In the action of the lOth of Sept. 1S13, between the Ameri- 
can squadron, commanded by Com. Perry, and the British, 
under Com. Barclay, on Lake Erie, when we were within 
the distance of a mile from the enemy, who had commenced 
firing, the signal was made by Commodore Perry, " engage as 
you come up, every one against his opponent, in the line be- 
fore designated^ The situation of the Niagara should have 
been abreast of the Q,ueen Charlotte, and of course as near as 
she could get, as previous to the action I had always under- 
stood from Com. Perry that it was his intention to bring the 
enemy's fleet to close action in case of a conflict. The Law- 
rence went into close action in the most gallant style, followed 
by the Caledonia under the command of Lieutenant D.Turner, 
who kept her in her station, agreeably to signals. The Q,ueen 
Charlotte made sail and closed up with the Detroit shortly 
after the action commenced, and directed her fire at the Law- 
rence. The Niagara still continued to remain a long way 
astern, and firing at long shot; a short time before Commodore 
Perry's going on board of her, she ranged ahea:d of the Law- 
rence and to windward of her, bringing the Commodore's ship 
between her and the enemy, when she might have passed to 
leeward and relieved the Lawrence from their destructive fire. 
The wind being at that time S. E. and the American squadron 
steering large, (with the exception of the Lawrence, she being 
at that time entirely disabled and lying like a log upon the 
water,) the Caledonia took and maintained her station in the 
line, which was just astern of the Commodore during the whole 
of the action. It was the opinion of the officers and rnen of 
the squadron that Captain Elliott did not do his duty in the 
action on that day, and that had his conduct been that of a 
brave man, there is no possible reason that can be given why 
his vessel should not have been brought into close action with 



28 

the British squadron, before Commodre Perry went on board of 
her- 

Great indignation was expressed by the officers in general 
at the base conduct of Capt. Elliott in neglecting to support 
the Lawrence as he ought to have done. But understanding 
that the Commodore desired to screen him, they forbore to 
make any remarks publicly upon his conduct. The volunteers 
in the fleet, however, not being actuated by the same motives 
which induced those under Com. Perry's command to remain 
silent, expressed their feelings without any reserve whatever. 
At the close of the action, Capt. Elliott was on board of the 
Somers, and behaved (as was reported by the officers and crew 
of that vessel) in a manner totally unbecoming an officer, by 
beating the Captain of the gun severely with a speaking trum- 
pet for his laughing while he, Capt. Elliott, dodged a shot. 

On or about the 1st of October, 1813, while commanding 
the U. S. Schooner Scorpion, on Lake St. Clair, Capt. Elliott 
came on board : in the course of conversation the battle of 
Lake Erie being introduced, he observed, " that the officers 
and men of the Lawrence, including Com. Perry, were by no 
means entitled to prize money ; and still further, that the 
other officers and men of the squadron were even entitled to 
prize money for her, she being a recaptured vessel." He also 
observed, that in the action he was so far from the enemy that 
he only fired his 12 pounders during two hours and a half; the 
reason he assigned was, that he had no signal from the Com- 
modore to change his situation : complained much of Commo- 
dore Perry's injustice towards him, and said, " He only regret- 
ted that he had not sacrificed the fleet when it was in his poiver to 
have done so, on that account." He also expressed sentiments to 
that eflfect frequently afterwards at Buffalo, as I was informed 
by the citizens, and Midshipman Senatt, who was present when 
the observations were made. 

(Signed) STEPHEN CHAMPLIN. 



Copy of an Affidavit of Thomas Breese, Esq. Purser U. S. JV. 
who was stationed on the quarter-deck of the Lawrence during 
the action of the 10th of Sept. 1813. 

On the 10th of Sept. 1813, the action on Lake Erie com- 
menced by a firing from the enemy's flag-ship, on the Law- 
rence, about the distance of a mile. The signal loas pre- 
viously made by Commodore Perry, for our vessels to engage as 



29 

they came up, each against his opponent in the British line, de- 
signated by the order of battle, which made the ship Queen 
Charlotte the antagonist of the Niagara, commanded by Capt. 
Elliott ; it being understood by the Commanders of the Ameri- 
can vessels, that it was the intention of Commodore Perry to 
bring the enemy to close action as soon as possiWe. The 
Lawrence immediately closed with the Detroit, and her ex- 
ample was gallantly followed by the Caledonia, Lieutenant Tur- 
ner, the Scorpion, and Ariel. Shortly after the commencement 
of the battle, the enemy's ship, Queen Charlotte, made sail 
and passed ahead of the opponent of the Caledonia, and 
opened a destructive fire on the Lawrence, in conjunction with 
the Detroit ; but the Niagara, from some mysterious cause, 
remained in the position she held at the commencement of the 
action. The conduct of Captain Elliott, in thus keeping his 
vessel out of close action, was evidently the cause of the great 
length of time the action lasted, and made the result, for a 
time, doubtful. When the Niagara passed to windward of the 
Lawrence, she appeared to have sustained little or no injury. 
After the action closed, the censure on the behavior of Captain 
Elliott was general and severe, not only by the officers of the 
Lawrence, but those of the small vessels ; so much so, that 
the officers did not hesitate to say, that Capt. Elliott must have 
been actuated by cowardly or ambitious motives, until it was 
made known, through Lieut. Turner, that it was the wish of 
Commodore Perry to suppress any reports prejudicial to Capt. 
Elliott. In conversation with some of the British officers, 
some time after the action, I heard them give as a reason for 
the Queen Charlotte's changing her position and firing upon 
the Lawrence, was in consequence of the Niagara, Captain 
Elliott, being at so great a distance, that the short guns of their 
vessels could not be used with effect. It was reported, that 
Captain Elliott, at the close of the action, behaved in an unoffi- 
cer-like manner on board the schooner Somers, by beating a 
Captain of a gun with a trumpet, for laughing as he dodged a 
shot which passed over him from the enemy. It was the re- 
ceived opinion in the fleet, that the Niagara had hut one or two 
men wounded, on board of her, when Commodore Perry took 
the command, and that she had sustained but slight injury pre- 
vious to that time. I frequently heard, after Commodore Per- 
ry left the station, that Captain Elliott, then in command, had 
circulated reports, among the citizens as well as officers, re- 
specting the conduct of Commodore Perry immediately after 
he got on board the Niagara, which were calculated to injure 
Commodore Perry, and were honorable to himself. 

Signed, THOS. BREESE. 



30 



Copy of the Affidavit of Captain Thomas Brownell, Sailing Mas- 
ter of the United States Schooner Jlriet, in the action of the lOth 
Scptemh£r 1813. 

In the action on the 10th of September, 1813, between the Ameri- 
can squadron, commanded by Commodore Perry, and the British, un- 
der Commodore Barclay, on Lake Erie, when we were about a mile 
distant from the enemy he commenced firing. The signal was 
made by Commodore Perry, " Engage as you come up, each vessel 
against her opponent, as previously designated." The situation of ihe 
Niagara should have been abreast of the Queen Charlotte, and as near 
as she could get ; as, previous to the action, I had always understood 
that it was Commodore Perry's intention to bring the enemy to close 
quarters as soon as possible in case of an action. 

The Lawrence went gallantly into close action, but the Niagara con- 
tinued to keep at a much greater distance astern than when the action 
commenced. 

The Q,ueen Charlotte made sail soon after the action began and 
closed with the Detroit, for the purpose of directing her fire at the 
Lawrence in conjunction with the Detroit. The Niagara, by backing 
her maintop sail and brailing up her jib, was not enabled to fire but at 
long shots, with her bow guns, for a long time during the action. A 
few minutes before Commodore Perry went on board the Niagara, she 
ranged ahead of the Lawrence and to windward of her, bringing the 
Commodore's ship between her and the enemy, when it was in Captain 
Elliott's power to have passed to leeward and relieved the Lawrence 
from the destructive fire of the Detroit and Queen Charlotte, the 
wind being at that time S. E. and the American squadron steering 
large, with the exception of the Lawrence, she being at that time en- 
tirely disabled and unmanageable. It was the opinion of the officers 
and men of the squadron, that Captain Elliott did not do his duty on 
the 10th of September, and that, had his conduct been that of a brave 
man, there is no possible reason that can be given why his vessel was 
not brought into close action with the British squadron long before 
Commodore Perry went on board of her, she being equal in point of 
sailing with the Lawrence. Great indignation was expressed by the 
officers in general at the base conduct of Captain Elliott in neglecting 
to support the Lawrence ; but understanding from Lieutenant Turner 
that Commodore Perry wished to screen Captain Elliott, we forebore 
to make any remarks publicly on his conduct. The Volunteers, how- 
ever not being actuated by the same motives that induced those under 
the command of Commodere Perry to remain silent, expressed their 
feelincrs without any reserve whatever. At the close of the action. 
Captain Elliott was on board of the schooner Somers, and behaved, as 
I am told by the officers of that vessel, in a manner altogether uiibe- 
comino- an officer, by beating a Captain of a gun severely with a 
speaking trumpet for laughing when he (Captain Elliott) dodged a 
shot. 



31 

He also arrested the commanding officer of that vessel (Sailing 
Master Almy) for intoxication, and I have frequently been informed, 
by the officers and men of that vessel, that he was in a perfect state r>f 
sobriety, and did every thing that a brave man could do to destroy the 
enemy. I was ordered to that vessel a few hours after the action and 
found him perfectly sober, but his feelings much wounded by Captain 
Elliott's false report. I was told by Lieutenant Champlin and others, 
that Captain Elliott said he regretted he did not sacrifice the American 
fleet, and that it was decidedly in his power to have done so. Captain 
Elliott applied to me for a certificate of his conduct in that action ; I 
told him [ could not say any thing in his favor, and that I stood ready 
at any time to give my sentiments before a Court of Investigation. 
After the action, I was on board the Caledonia, w hen Captain Bignall 
of the British Navy remarked, that had Captain Elliott belonged teethe 
British Navy, he would have been hanged. 

Mr. Magrath, who signed a letter prejudicial to the character of 
Captam Perry, told me, he would sacrifice his right arm if he could 
withdraw his name from that paper. 
(Signed) 

THOMAS BROWNELL. 



Copy of the Affidavit of Lieutenant William V. Taylor, Sailing 
Master of the U. S. brig Lawrence, in the action of the \.Oth of Sept. 
1813. 

I am requested to state such facts as came within my knowledge re- 
lating to the battle on Lake Erie on the 10th of September 1813, at 
which time I was Sailing Master on board the Lawrence. Our squad- 
ron w^as tlien laying in Put-in-Bay, with some small islands, of wiiich 
Snake Island was the chief, to the leeward. At day light, the enemy's 
squadron was discovered in the N. W. from the mast head of the 
Lawrence; when Commodore Perry immediately ordered the signal 
made, to get under weigh. After we had got under weigh, he asked 
me, if I thought we should be able to work out to windward of the 
islands in time to gain tlic weather gage of the enemy. I replied, 
that I did not think we could, the wind then being at S. W. and light. 
The Commodore then said he would wear ship, and go to leeward of 
the islands, as he was determined to bring the enemy to battle that day, 
even if he gave them the weather gage. The wind, however, at this 
time hauled to the southward and eastward, and enabled us to clear 
the islands, and keep the weather gage. At 10 A. M. the enemy, de- 
spairing of gaining the wind, hove to in line, with their heads to the 
westward, at about three leagues distance ; the wind then about S. E. 
and a light breeze. The signal to prepare for action was made from 
the Lawrence, at a quarter before meridian. The enemy's flag ship 
fired a single shot at the Lawrence. Signal tvas made for each vessel 



32 

to engage her opponent, as designated in previous orders ; which made 
the Lawrence opposed to the enemy's new ship Detroit, and the Nia- 
gara to the dueen Charlotte. Commodore Perry then ordered the 
word passed by trumpet, through Captain Elliott, for the American 
squadron to close up, as before prescribed, zchich was at half cable's 
length distance. At meridian, finding the enemy within reach of our 
carronades, opened our fire, and continued nearing them until within 
cannister range, and were gallantly supported by the Caledonia, Lieu- 
tenant Turner, and by the Ariel and Scorpion, both on our weather 
bow. Shortly afi;er the action commenced, I observed the Niagara to 
be a considerable distance astern, zoith her main topsail to the mast, 
and her jib brailed up : and I am strongly impressed ivith the belief, 
that her top gallant sails were never set until Commodore Perry tcent on 
board of her, after the Lawrence had been disabled. Once or twice 
during the engagement I asked Captain Perry if he observed the con- 
duct of that ship, and the different conduct of the Caledonia. The 
enemy's ship, Queen Charlotte, taking advantage of the great distance 
at which the Niagara kept herself, closed with the Detroit, and opened 
her fire in concert with that ship upon the Lawrence, which proved so 
destructive that, by half past one o'clock, P. M. we were completely 
disabled, and our decks covered with killed and wounded : but the an- 
imating exertions of Captain Perry kept alive the spirits of the small 
remnant of our crew, and the action was continued until only one gun 
could be fired, at which Captain Perry assisted himself. He then de- 
termined to quit the Lawrence, and take command of the 'Niagara, 
which ship he observed did not appear to be much injured. The 
American flag, he said, should not be hauled down from over his head 
on that day. At the time of Captain Perry's leaving the Lawrence, 
the Niagara was passing our larboard beam, at from a quarter to half 
a mile's distance ; leaving the Lawrence between that ship and the 
enemy. The Caledonia at the same time passing our starboard beam, 
and between us and the enemy. I anxiously watched the course of 
our noble commander, after he left the Lawrence for the Niagara. 
The enemy had discovered his design, and directed their fire at the 
boat he was in. lie however remained standing up in her stern, until 
the entreaties of the men prevailed u])on him to sit down. I learnt 
afterwards, that they had implored him with tears not to expose him- 
self as a mark for the enemy's fire ; and finally declared, that they 
would lay on their oars, unless he sat down. It was a considerable 
time, with all the exertions of the boats's crew, before Captain Perry 
could come up with the Niagara. When he did get on board that ship, 
he immediately brought her into action ; and passing through the ene- 
my's .squadron, poured into them a tremendous fire from both sides. 
In a {ew minutes, the enemy's vessels surrendered to him, and struck 
their colors, except two small vessels, which attempted to escape, but 
were pursued and captured. 

I had assisted in the equipment of the Niagara, as well as the Law- 
rence. The former ship was in all respects fully equal to the latter, in 
size — in number, weight, and description of guns — in rigging and 
equipment, and in point of sailing. Before Captain Elliott arrived on 



33 

Lake Erie, the Niagara was commanded by Lieutenant Turner, and 
the squadron had already been out one cruise, manned chiefly with 
volunteer militia. Captain Elliott brought up with him from Ontario 
from 90 to 100 prime men ; the chief part of which he took on board 
the Niagara, which ship was much better manned than the Lawrence; 
a great proportion of whose crew was on the sick list, and most of the 
remainder not effective men ; consisting chiefly of volunteer militia of 
all descriptions, and exhausted by previous exertions. I was on board 
the Niagara, when Captain Elliott took command of her, and when 
that part of her crew which came from the Ontario first came on board, 
and I observed that as they came alongside in their boats, he called 
out from among them the men previously designated for the different 
posts and stations about the ship and tops ; so that it appeared that his 
men were already selected. This occasioned my observinor to Com- 
modore Perry, that the different vessels of the squadron were very un- 
equally manned, in consequence of so great a proportion of the ef- 
fective men being engrossed by the Niagara alone. He did not think 
proper, however, to make any alteration. All necessary orders pre- 
vious to the engagement were distinctly given in writing, and put into 
the hands of each commander ; and the last words of Commodore 
Perry, to all the officers assembled on the eve of the battle, (as was re- 
lated to me at the time) were, that he could not advise them better 
than in the words of Lord Nelson — " //' you lay your cnemi/ alongrAde, 
you cannot be out of your place." After the firing had commenced 
on the part of the enemy, at about a mile's distance, Commodore Per- 
ry gave an order by trumpet for the vessels astern to close up in the 
line. The Niagara teas then near enough to the Lawrence to receive 
and pass this order. I do not think she was, during the engagement, 
much nearer to the enemy than she then was, until brought into ac- 
tion by Commodore Perry. It was generally understood, that one or 
two only of her men had then been wounded. If it had been the de- 
sire of the commander of the Niagara to have joined in the action, 
and engaged the Q,ueen Charlotte, as ordered, I know of no cause 
which could have prevented his so doing. The wind, though light, 
teas favorable, and there u:as as much of it for the Niagara as for the 
Lawrence. It was the general opinion of the officers after the battle, 
that had the Niagara followed the example of the Lawrence, the ene- 
my would havo been compelled to surrender in a much shorter time, 
and with much less loss on our side. So much indignation was excited by 
the conduct of the Niagara, that even tiie seamen broke out in open 
murmurs : but Commodore Perry requested the officers to silence eve- 
ry complaint against Captain Elliott, saying, that sufficient honor had 
been gained for all ; and he was desirous that the public attention 
might not be attracted to any differences in the fleet. His official ac- 
count, when read at Erie, gave much dissatisfaction to most of the of- 
ficers. They thought Captain Elliott too honorably mentioned in it. 
(Signed) W. V. TAYLOR, 

Lieut. U. S. N. 
5 



34 

Extracts from the official letter of Commodore Barclay, Cominander of 
the British fleet on Lake Erie, 7-especting the action of the \Qth Sep- 
tember, 1813, taken from. Niles Weekly Register, vol. G,pp- 180, 181, 
copied from " The second supplement to London Gazette" of Tues- 
day, February 8th, 1814. 

" At a quarter before 12 1 commenced the action by a few long 
guns ; about a quarter past, the American Commodore, also support- 
ed by two schooners, one carrying four long 12 pounders, the other a 
long 32 and 24 pounder, came close to action with the Detroit. The 
other brig of the enemy, apparently destined to engage the Queen Char- 
lotte, supported in like manner by tivo schooners, kept so far to 
windward as to render the Queen Charlotte's 20 pounder carronades 
useless." 

" The action continued with great fury until half past two, when I 
perceived my opponent drop astern, and a boat passing from him to the 
Niagara {which vessel was, at this time perfectly fresh.) The American 
Commodore, seeing that, as yet, the day was against him, (his vessel 
having struck soon after he left her,) and also the very defenceless 
state of the Detroit, which ship was now a perfect wreck, principally 
from the raking fire of the gun boats ; and also, that the Queen Char- 
lotte was in such a situation that I could receive very little assistance 
from her, and the Lady Provost being, at this time, too far to leeward, 
from her rudder being injured, made a noble and, alas ! too successful 
an effort to regain it, for he bore up, and, supported by his small ves- 
sels, passed within pistol shot, and took a raking position on our bow." 



35 



2* 



There are many other documents in corroboration of the pre- 
ceding charges within the control of the relations of the late 
Commodore Perry, but they have concluded to publish only the 
evidence of those Officers who are, at present, living and in 
the United States ; and, in adherence to this determination, the 
evidence of Lieutenants Packett and Yarnall, (deceased,) 
one commanding the schooner Ariel, the other 1st Lieutenant 
of the Lawrence, have been withheld. 

In regard to the evidences adduced by Capt. Elliott, it may 
not be improper to state, that Lieutenants Smith and Edwards, 
and Purser Magrath, are deceased ; Lieutenant Conklin and 
Mr. S. Wardwell Adams, are no longer in the Navy. There 
was no officer, in the American fleet, by the name of W. 
Nicholls. 



S6 



The following is a list of the Officers, and where sta- 
tioned, whose testimony is published in the preceding 
pages. 

Lieut. Com. Daniel Turner, commanding U. S. schr. 
Nonsuch, New Orleans station. 

Lieut. Thomas Holdup Stevens, New York station. 

Lieut. Dulany Forrest, Navy Yard, Washington. 

Lieut. Wm. V. Taylor, Newport station. 

Lieut. Stephen Champlin, Newport station. 

Thomas Breese, Esq. Purser U. S. frigate Constitu- 
tion. 

Dr. Usher Parsons, Boston station. 

Capt. Thos. Brownell, commanding a merchant ves- 
sel out of Bristol, Rhode Island. 



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